Dozens of residents of Arab countries appeal to Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem in search of 'smart and beautiful' women

Itamar Eichner |Published: 04.03.09 , 13:49

"I'm asking for your help. I would like to meet an Israeli woman for marriage purposes," Abdullah, a resident of Saudi Arabia, said in a recent letter to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem.

"I have heard that the Israeli women are very smart and beautiful," he added. "I'm ready to pay a dowry of camels, herds or even money. Please help me."

Dozens of such appeals are received every year by the Foreign Ministry's department for Arab media. Emails have been arriving from people in Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

According to Foreign Ministry official Adel Hino, almost all men identify themselves by their full name and are not afraid to leave their telephone number and address as contact details.

The Foreign Ministry recently received a letter from a resident of the United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf, who introduced himself as a wealthy man with a fleet of automobiles, looking for a Jewish bride from Israel.

Many appeals have also been received from Iraqi men, who say their dream is to marry an Israeli woman. One of them, a Baghdad resident, even said he is married to four women and would like the Israeli Foreign Ministry to introduce him to another woman, this time an Israeli one.

"I promise you that she will fit in well with the rest of my wives," he wrote.

"The Israeli woman must have a remarkable image in the Arab world," says Hino. "The Arab men reiterate in their letters that the Israeli women are beautiful and smart, but we politely answer all of them that with all due respect, the Foreign Ministry is not a matchmaking agency."